Technology in Extreme Places: Outer Space

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There isn’t much wiggle room when it comes to a space rendezvous. Getting two moving objects to meet 240 miles above the Earth—the approximate location of the International Space Station—is like trying to thread a giant weightless needle floating in an infinite haystack. One millimeter in the wrong direction can spell the difference between a successful mission and a dangerous failure. That’s why humans are involved; we help on-board PCs with the arduous task of connecting two objects floating freely in space.

Of course, lack of wiggle room is only one of the drawbacks to space travel. Once you leave Earth’s protective atmosphere, you enter nothingness, or as close to nothingness as nothingness can get. Space is the ultimate vacuum: frictionless, cold, and silent. Humans can’t live for even a moment outside vehicles and suits that provide oxygen and keep us safe from radiation and our own inertia. Perhaps that’s why astronauts are so revered, and why it takes years for space explorers to learn how to pilot their craft into what is truly the final frontier. Unfortunately, it isn’t always possible to have a human at the controls—especially now. Continued…

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